Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-12470

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average working age population in employment has been in each of the last five years, shown also as a percentage of UK working age population in employment and broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) local authority area.

The number of working age people in employment can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). These estimates broken down by age, gender and local authority are reported in the following Tables 1 to 6.

The tables broken down by age and gender are taken from the spring quarter of the LFS. However, the tables broken down by local authority area are taken from the Annual LFS as this provides more information at a local authority level. The UK figure from the Annual LFS is only available for 2003 which means comparisons of Scottish local authority level employment to UK employment have only been made for 2003 (Table 6).

Table 1: Working Age¹ People in Employment, Scotland

Year	Age	All
16 to 19	20 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 49	50 to Retirement Age
1999	137,000	180,000	572,000	868,000	451,000	2,208,000
2000	135,000	202,000	558,000	890,000	453,000	2,238,000
2001	128,000	213,000	560,000	891,000	495,000	2,288,000
2002	138,000	217,000	526,000	913,000	489,000	2,282,000
2003	126,000	222,000	511,000	936,000	524,000	2,320,000

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarter 1999–2003.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 2: Working age¹ people in employment, Scotland level as a percentage of UK level

Year	Age	All
16 to 19	20 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 49	50 to Retirement Age
1999	9.3%	7.9%	8.3%	8.8%	8.1%	8.5%
2000	9.0%	8.7%	8.2%	8.9%	7.9%	8.5%
2001	8.7%	9.0%	8.4%	8.7%	8.4%	8.6%
2002	9.3%	8.9%	8.2%	8.8%	8.2%	8.6%
2003	8.6%	9.1%	8.2%	8.9%	8.4%	8.6%

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarter 1999-2003

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 3: Working Age¹ People in Employment, Scotland

Year	Gender	All
Male	Female
1999	1,178,000	1,030,000	2,208,000
2000	1,195,000	1,043,000	2,238,000
2001	1,218,000	1,070,000	2,288,000
2002	1,203,000	1,079,000	2,282,000
2003	1,238,000	1,081,000	2,320,000

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarter 1999–2003.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Table 4: Working Age¹ People in Employment, Scotland Level as a Percentage of UK Level

Year	Gender	All
Male	Female
1999	8.3%	8.8%	8.5%
2000	8.3%	8.7%	8.5%
2001	8.4%	8.9%	8.6%
2002	8.3%	8.9%	8.6%
2003	8.5%	8.8%	8.6%

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarter 1999–2003.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 5: Working Age¹ People in Employment by Local Authority Area

Local Authority Area	Year
2003	2002	2001	2000	1999
Scotland	2,295,000	2,299,000	2,283,000	2,276,000	2,220,000
Aberdeen City	101,000	105,000	105,000	105,000	108,000
Aberdeenshire	113,000	115,000	118,000	115,000	109,000
Angus	48,000	50,000	54,000	56,000	52,000
Argyll and Bute	39,000	41,000	40,000	39,000	36,000
Clackmannanshire	21,000	18,000	19,000	17,000	18,000
Dumfries and Galloway	66,000	65,000	63,000	66,000	63,000
Dundee City	59,000	61,000	62,000	60,000	59,000
East Ayrshire	51,000	53,000	51,000	49,000	45,000
East Dunbartonshire	53,000	49,000	54,000	52,000	50,000
East Lothian	42,000	37,000	41,000	40,000	42,000
East Renfrewshire	44,000	42,000	41,000	43,000	41,000
Edinburgh, City of	219,000	230,000	223,000	216,000	215,000
Eilean Siar	12,000	10,000	12,000	13,000	9,000
Falkirk	68,000	64,000	67,000	73,000	70,000
Fife	163,000	160,000	158,000	160,000	152,000
Glasgow City	238,000	227,000	220,000	218,000	198,000
Highland	100,000	99,000	96,000	95,000	97,000
Inverclyde	34,000	31,000	32,000	39,000	38,000
Midlothian	39,000	39,000	38,000	39,000	36,000
Moray	40,000	41,000	44,000	43,000	42,000
North Ayrshire	55,000	55,000	55,000	56,000	54,000
North Lanarkshire	133,000	141,000	137,000	127,000	131,000
Orkney Islands	10,000	10,000	9,000	12,000	12,000
Perthshire and Kinross	62,000	66,000	65,000	61,000	61,000
Renfrewshire	78,000	84,000	81,000	82,000	81,000
Scottish Borders	51,000	46,000	50,000	51,000	49,000
Shetland Islands	11,000	12,000	10,000	13,000	12,000
South Ayrshire	49,000	50,000	48,000	49,000	44,000
South Lanarkshire	139,000	139,000	134,000	133,000	147,000
Stirling	40,000	33,000	33,000	33,000	35,000
West Dunbartonshire	39,000	45,000	42,000	40,000	37,000
West Lothian	81,000	79,000	82,000	82,000	77,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 1999–2003.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 6: Working Age¹ People in Employment by Local Authority Level as a Percentage of UK Level

Local Authority Area	2003
Scotland	8.6%
Aberdeen City	0.4%
Aberdeenshire	0.4%
Angus	0.2%
Argyll and Bute	0.1%
Clackmannanshire	0.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	0.2%
Dundee City	0.2%
East Ayrshire	0.2%
East Dunbartonshire	0.2%
East Lothian	0.2%
East Renfrewshire	0.2%
Edinburgh, City of	0.8%
Eilean Siar	0.0%
Falkirk	0.3%
Fife	0.6%
Glasgow City	0.9%
Highland	0.4%
Inverclyde	0.1%
Midlothian	0.1%
Moray	0.1%
North Ayrshire	0.2%
North Lanarkshire	0.5%
Orkney Islands	0.0%
Perthshire and Kinross	0.2%
Renfrewshire	0.3%
Scottish Borders	0.2%
Shetland Islands	0.0%
South Ayrshire	0.2%
South Lanarkshire	0.5%
Stirling	0.1%
West Dunbartonshire	0.1%
West Lothian	0.3%

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Question reference: S2W-12475

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are registered as economically inactive, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) local authority area and (d) reason for economic inactivity.

The number of working age people economically inactive can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey. These estimates broken down by age, gender, local authority area and reason for economic inactivity are reported in the following tables.

Table 1: Economically Inactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland byAge

Age	Level
16 to 19	93,000
20 to 24	72,000
25 to 34	108,000
35 to 49	175,000
50 to Retirement Age	241,000
All	688,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 2: Economically Inactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland by Gender

Gender	Level
Male	286,000
Female	402,000
All	688,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

The following is a corrected answer (published on 17 January 2005); see below.

Mr JimWallace: The number of working agepeople economically inactive can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey.These estimates broken down by age, gender, local authority area and reason foreconomic inactivity are reported in Tables 1 to 4 below.

Table 1: EconomicallyInactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland

Age	Level
16 to 19	93,000
20 to 24	72,000
25 to 34	108,000
35 to 49	175,000
50 to Retirement Age	241,000
All	688,000

Source: Annual ScottishLabour Force Survey 2003-04.

Note: 1. Working age isdefined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Table 2: EconomicallyInactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland

Gender	Level
Male	286,000
Female	402,000
All	688,000

Source: Annual ScottishLabour Force Survey 2003-04.

Note: 1. Working age isdefined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Table 3: EconomicallyInactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland

Local Authority Area	Economically Inactive
Scotland	688,000
Aberdeen City	27,000
Aberdeenshire	24,000
Angus	14,000
Argyll and Bute	10,000
Clackmannanshire	7,000
Dumfries and Galloway	16,000
Dundee City	21,000
East Ayrshire	17,000
East Dunbartonshire	12,000
East Lothian	12,000
East Renfrewshire	10,000
Edinburgh, City of	60,000
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	2,000
Falkirk	19,000
Fife	44,000
Glasgow City	111,000
Highland	19,000
Inverclyde	14,000
Midlothian	10,000
Moray	9,000
North Ayrshire	22,000
North Lanarkshire	53,000
Orkney Islands	2,000
Perth and Kinross	16,000
Renfrewshire	23,000
Scottish Borders	11,000
Shetland Islands	2,000
South Ayrshire	14,000
South Lanarkshire	41,000
Stirling	11,000
West Dunbartonshire	14,000
West Lothian	21,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Notes: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Table 4: Economically Inactive Working Age¹ People, Scotland

Reason for Inactivity	Level
Sickness or Disability	266,000
Looking after family/home	173,000
Students	135,000
Other	114,000
All	688,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Notes: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Question reference: S2W-12474

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were registered on each government training scheme in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) local authority area.

Question reference: S2W-12476

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged between 50 and 65 have retired early in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) gender, (b) local authority area and (c) reason for retiring early.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates for the number of people aged between 50 and 65 who have retired early in the last five years. The retirement age for males is 65 and the retirement age for females is 60. Thus females retiring at 59 or under and males retiring at 64 or under are considered to be retiring early. The estimates by gender and local authority area are reported in Tables 1 and 2. Figures by local authority area are only available in 2003 due to an enhancement to the LFS in that year. Data are not available for all local authority areas as the sample sizes are not large enough to produce reliable estimates. Information is not collected for the reasons why people retire early.

Table 1: People Aged 50 to 65 Retiring Early, Scotland, 1999–2003 by Gender

Year	Male	Female	All
1999	29,000	15,000	44,000
2000	29,000	13,000	42,000
2001	33,000	13,000	46,000
2002	33,000	13,000	46,000
2003	31,000	12,000	43,000

Source: Labour Force Survey, 1999 to 2003

Table 2: People Aged 50 to 65 Retiring Early by Local Authority Area, Scotland, 2003

Local Authority Area	2003
Scotland	43,000
Aberdeen City	*
Aberdeenshire	*
Angus	1,000
Argyll and Bute	1,000
Clackmannanshire	1,000
Dumfries and Galloway	*
Dundee City	*
East Ayrshire	1,000
East Dunbartonshire	2,000
East Lothian	1,000
East Renfrewshire	1,000
Edinburgh, City of	*
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	*
Falkirk	*
Fife	*
Glasgow City	*
Highland	2,000
Inverclyde	*
Midlothian	1,000
Moray	1,000
North Ayrshire	1,000
North Lanarkshire	*
Orkney Islands	*
Perth and Kinross	2,000
Renfrewshire	*
Scottish Borders	1,000
Shetland Islands	*
South Ayrshire	1,000
South Lanarkshire	4,000
Stirling	1,000
West Dunbartonshire	1,000
West Lothian	*

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04

*Estimate is below reliability threshold as defined by the Office for National Statistics.

Question reference: S2W-12473

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of job vacancies has been in (a) each local authority area and (b) total in each of the last five years.

The Jobcentre vacancy series has been suspended by the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Work and Pensions since May 2001. However, the number of notified vacancies for each month has been available since late 2002. Notified vacancies are not collected by local authority area. However, Table 1 shows the average number of notified vacancies in 2003 by Jobcentre Plus District.

Table 2 shows the average number of unfilled and notified vacancies for Scotland in 1999 and 2000 as well as the average notified vacancies for 2003.

Table 1 Average Notified Vacancies by Jobcentre Plus District, 2003

Jobcentre Plus District	Average Monthly Notified Vacancies
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway	2,646
Edinburgh	3,412
Fife	1,858
Forth Valley and Dumbarton	2,191
Glasgow	5,263
Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland	3,479
Highlands and Western Isles	1,594
Lanarkshire	3,310
Lothian and Borders	2,305
Renfrew and Inverclyde, Argyle and Bute	1,919
Tayside	2,033

Source: NOMIS, Department for Work and Pensions

Table 2 Average Unfilled and Notified Vacancies in Scotland, 1999, 2000 and 2003

	Average Monthly Notified Vacancies	Average Monthly Unfilled Vacancies
1999	25,850	32,925
2000	25,117	39,925
2001	*	*
2002	*	*
2003	30,013	*

Source: NOMIS, Department for Work and Pensions.

Note: *Not available as series was suspended.

Question reference: S2W-12478

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people currently work part-time but want to work full-time, broken down by (a) reason for working part-time, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) local authority area.

Figures are not collected specifically for the number of people who work part-time but want to work full-time. However, the Labour Force Survey estimates the number of people working part-time who want to work more hours. These estimates by reason for working part-time, age, gender and local authority area are reported in Tables 1 to 4.

Table 1: Number of People Working Part-Time Who Want to Work More Hours by Reason, Scotland, 2003

Reason for Working Part-Time	Level
Student or at school	20,000
Ill or disabled	3,000
Could not find a full-time job	34,000
Did not want a full-time job	44,000
All	102,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Table 2: Number of People Working Part-Time Who Want to Work More Hours by Age, Scotland, 2003

Age	Level
16 to 19	19,000
20 to 24	13,000
25 to 34	17,000
35 to 49	38,000
50 and over	16,000
All	102,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Table 3: Number of People Working Part-Time Who Want To Work More Hours by Gender, Scotland, 2003

Age	Level
Male	28,000
Female	74,000
All	102,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Table 4: Number of people working part-time who want to work more hours by local authority area, Scotland, 2003

LocalAuthority Area	2003
Scotland	102,000
Aberdeen City	7,000
Aberdeenshire	4,000
Angus	2,000
Argyll and Bute	2,000
Clackmannanshire	1,000
Dumfries and Galloway	3,000
Dundee City	4,000
East Ayrshire	2,000
East Dunbartonshire	2,000
East Lothian	1,000
East Renfrewshire	2,000
Edinburgh, City of	8,000
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	1,000
Falkirk	2,000
Fife	9,000
Glasgow City	10,000
Highland	7,000
Inverclyde	2,000
Midlothian	1,000
Moray	2,000
North Ayrshire	2,000
North Lanarkshire	4,000
Orkney Islands	1,000
Perth and Kinross	2,000
Renfrewshire	3,000
Scottish Borders	2,000
Shetland Islands	1,000
South Ayrshire	2,000
South Lanarkshire	5,000
Stirling	2,000
West Dunbartonshire	2,000
West Lothian	3,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Question reference: S2W-12091

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 6 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated for external relations in each of the next three financial years, broken down by department.

Question reference: S2W-12327

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 30 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that it was legally competent for those people who were members of the area medical committee that nominated the Suckle practice to the Rowallan Medical Centre single practice vacancy in Blantyre to be subsequently involved in the rerun appointment process for that position and whether that process was consistent with employment law and human rights legislation.

Question reference: S2W-12325

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 30 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally competent for it to refuse to allow the failed applicant for the vacancy at the single GP practice at Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre the right of appeal and whether such refusal is consistent with human rights legislation.

In any case where a NHS board reconsiders applications for a medical practice vacancy under the provisions of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995, which are kept in force by the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004, so that cases which were in process when the 1995 regulations were revoked can be taken to a conclusion under the new GMS contract arrangements, it is required to select the candidate it wishes to provide services for the patients. The 2004 order, however, has no provisions so that an appeal can be made against such a selection.

Both the order and the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 are held to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Question reference: S2W-12328

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 30 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that it is legally competent for the new appointee to the single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre to close the practice and integrate it within the Suckle practice.

Yes. The NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 specifically provided that a NHS board which was required to select a candidate for a medical practice vacancy could take into account any wish by the candidate to practise with other doctors. In terms of the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004 the successful candidate was offered a GMS contract. The NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 provide that individual medical practitioners who hold a contract can enter into a new contract in the name of a partnership. Similarly, partnerships may convert to contracts with individuals.

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